I saw enough to want to watch the next preseason game. If nothing more than to make fun of Kelly's hair.
I think its more we sent in the 3rd unit (d league) team. All in all, I liked what I saw from the regulars.
Our defense is so much better than the previous seasons. Hibbert does a good job of just packing the paint, guys need to rotate to cover for him though (looking at you Randle). I really do like Russell and Clarkson playing together, they have good chemistry and work well on both sides. Its easy to forget that these guys are still so young, they will get better the more they play together and they will be good, they've shown flashes tonight.
I saw a lot of encouraging things tonight. I liked the defense until the end. Hibbert provided just what was advertised, a lot of D down low. Agree with alam1108, Randle particularly needs to do a better job of rotating when Hibbert goes after it. Randle's going to have to improve a lot on his all around D. Clarkson had some great defensive plays as well. And Russell impressed me. I thought he was quite poised out there - way more than I thought he would be - and he meshed pretty darned well with that first unit which I wasn't expecting. His D wasn't bad either. And a couple gorgeous passes. Sweet Lou was nice off the bench, too! Even Swaggy P and R. Kelly delivered. Bass needs to shake the rust off his shot. So does Randle. We had our offensive woes (really just missing shots they should make), but I think it will come. The D is just way improved over what we saw last year. On the not as optimistic side, Sacre and J. Brown are just bad.
Definitely encouraged by what I saw out there last night. I think we have a solid starting five going into the season and our bench looks not bad either with the pickups. A lot of missed shots but I don't think putting up points is going to be a problem. One player that surprised me was R Kelly. He looks more aggressive on the offensive end and not in a bad way. Had a couple of nice moves towards the basket. If he becomes more than just a spot 3 point shooter he might actually be decent. We'll see. @sirronstuff First thing that came to my mind was...Vujacic? Wait no lol.
the one big positive for me was that russell was showing some star potential out there, despite the lackluster stats.
The best part for me may have been just seeing guys who can actually be pieces on a contending roster. I love our young core. But I really liked watching Lou, Hibbert, and Bass. Despite all the doom and gloom over the summer (even from me), we managed to snag some good free agents.
Also, keep in mind, Lou can do more of his work off-ball with Huertas organizing the offense when he's healthy.
This place (outside of this thread) is a little too gloomy to me. I saw a LOT to be excited about: 1. Clarkson looks fantastic. I thought he was likely fancy camp fodder last summer and I couldn't be more excited to be completely wrong. This kid is a stud. I saw great defensive energy and awareness, he's able to get to the rim at will. His shot form looks better... Man this kid is good now and is going to be really good later. 2. D'Angelo looked about what I expected. Lots of good flashes, great decision making, great feel. His legs weren't there on his shot (Byron's camp gave EVERYONE heavy legs) but just about everything else he did I was happy with. 3. Hibbert looked really good. I'm excited about what he's going to mean to the team defensively he's just a monster. Loved his energy on the glass too. I wish he was stronger, but if he was we wouldn't have gotten him for literally nothing. 4. Kobe looked alright. He's old and tired, but the skill level is still very high. 5. I don't know why everyone is so down on Randle. He was far from perfect and offensively he struggled, but didn't everyone? I loved his activity on the glass and his awareness on both ends of the floor is improving. He had some good passes that just didn't result in assists, he tried to make some plays defensively, and he worked hard. I thought he looked very different from Summer League. His play in Summer League looked a lot more Jabari-esque than he looked last night. 6. Sweet Lou and Bass are going to be great veterans for us. 7. I love Black's energy but man he's just too small to play against 7 footers. He's an ideal 4 with a 5's game. Something's gotta give with him.
^^ Yeah, Randle shot too much and too poorly but then again the entire team shot 28% so he wasn't the only one. He looked really good on the glass with 7 boards and he pushed the ball up well after defensive boards like we know he can do. I'd like to see him pay more attention on team defense. He needs to improve a great deal in that respect. But I know Byron (and Hibbert) will get on him about that. He just did not cover behind Hibbert when Roy switched on D and that led to quite a few uncontested baskets. However, let's bear in mind that this was his first complete NBA game. Like real said, his activity and motor really impressed me and I think the rest will come over time.
I still like Bass starting next to Hibbert. I feel Bass can LIVE off the pick and roll game with Russell, at the same time, provide spacing for Hibbert. Also, he's probably more experienced with rotating and providing that help when Hibbert goes to challenge shots. Russell/Clarkson/Kobe/Bass/Hibbert Huertas/Lou/Young/Randle/Black(Upshaw) That second unit would much benefit from an Upshaw type anchor, but given the situation with small ball, Tarik may work out too.
I know what you mean. We may need to insert another veteran into that starting lineup. It just feels like there's too much learning curve out there to win games as currently constructed. I could see either starting Ron at 3 and moving Russell to the bench or more likely starting Bass as you said. Russell looked pretty good out there as a starter and I agree with you that Bass is a better p and r partner for him than Randle. That said Bass' shot looked just as bad as Randle's last night. Our guys' legs must be hurting from training camp because everyone was ice cold. When the leading percentage shooter (over three shots that is) is Swaggy P with a whopping 40% that ain't a good night.
Exactly. I saw great effort out there and we know the guys are in his ear. Kobe, Worthy, and the entire team has the utmost faith in him. I think they know more than we do about what this kid is capable of. I agree that his team defense needs to improve. He's just not there yet defensively. He needs more time and experience rotating. I agree with @lakerfan2 that Bass should start at first. Better fit for now with that jumper, better head for the game for now, more experience. Plus it gives Randle the opportunity to control the mid-post off the bench. The Lakers may prefer to go full rebuild mode and just throw Randle in the deep end. It'll cost us a couple games, but I think Randle will develop quickly. Last season he looked worlds different just from the first pre-season game to the last. I expect the same here.
I liked some of what I saw last night. I have to cosign everyone who was impressed with Hibbert's defense. He made an immediate impact out on the floor. JC looked great out there. Randle and Russel will need time. Russel will need time to get accustomed to the speed of the NBA game and Randle will need time to develop enough discipline while on the court. I liked what I saw out of Lou and Bass out there. I see why Lou was six man of the year. He can definitely score.
This is an optimism thread so I'll be very brief...I liked what I saw from Clarkson, Russell, Williams, and dare I say Kelly...The team needs a lot of work.
My impressions: Hibbert's conditioning is not great, but his defensive impact is huge. We look so much better defensively this year, and he's one of the main reasons. Lou and Swag are fun to watch when they are hot. It won't always happen, but when it does we'll score a ton of points. Kobe looked rusty. The moves are still there, but he needs more time. The young guys are doing well. Randle has to take things slowly and take a jumper when he's open. Kelly was better than expected. I'm not impressed by Clarkson's new haircut. :No: I would think seriously about starting Bass. He's great with Hibbert and one of the strongest guys in the league.
I find it encouraging that the only player that looked bad last night was Jabari. And we still have MWP, Upshaw, and Nance Jr. to look forward to :jack:
I still think Randle is too small to be a great player. He has a really hard time finishing around the rim.
